Meet the Hodgsons
by RunningWild14
Summary: Jack is temporarily staying at Nikki's place when his parents arrive unexpectedly in London. What happens when his ma mistakes Nikki for his girlfriend? (Jack/Nikki). Multi-chapter.
1. Ma and Pa

Time for another multi-chapter, in which we finally get to meet Jack's estranged parents.

* * *

FANTASTIC.

The water in Jack's building had been cut off, so he'd been showering at work for the past few days – which wasn't great when he had to walk past Nikki first thing in the morning stinking to high heaven (and he would have to get there _really early_ to get in before her), before wasting half an hour of his working day showering and shaving in The Lyell Centre's locker room.

Thomas had been amused by it but remained silent, and Clarissa had teased him from the…well, she'd always teased him.

It took 5 days of this routine before Nikki offered to let Jack stay with her until his water was switched back on – which his landlord assured him would be anytime over the next 2 weeks. Jack had been furious, but his landlord insisted it was a busy time of year for plumbers in London – and he'd just have to wait it out. There was nothing he could do about it. Jack was willing to place a bet on his landlord not having enough money to fix the problem.

Clarissa had also offered, but he didn't fancy intruding upon her and her husband Max. That would make things a bit too awkward for his liking.

He'd initially protested Nikki's proposal but he soon remembered what it was like to have, well, running water – for hot drinks, for washing, for…flushing the toilet. He neglected to inform her of that last part. There was no need for her to know. And as much as Jack loved going down into London's sewer network he really needed a flushing toilet. He was a man, needless to say.

Jack began clearing his samples away. He'd been analysing DNA under his microscope…and not DNA of the good kind.

"You owe me pizza Jack!" Nikki called to him from her desk. She'd spent most of the afternoon focused on writing up an autopsy report.

Why did he always owe someone pizza? And why was that person almost always Nikki? Everything she did for him required payment in pizza.

"You uh, wanna swing by somewhere and grab some, or order for delivery?" He enquired, leaning against the doorframe.

Sometimes Jack could be too attractive for his own good, Nikki thought. She stared to file all her paperwork and shut down her computer.

"Pick up?" She suggested, putting the last file in her desk drawer.

"Sure."

She grabbed her jacket and followed him out. Tonight would be fun.

* * *

Nikki still hadn't managed to find herself the right dining table for her new house. She'd never owned a dining table before…she'd never had room for one before. So now there was a void space in her open plan living area and she felt like she _should_ buy one. But most nights it was just her; just her with a microwave meal or takeaway. Jack suggested she should get a pool table…yeah right…Nikki, with a pool table in her house? Could you imagine? Never.

She soon found herself eating pizza out of a box, sat on the floor between her sofa and her coffee table. Jack had slumped down on the sofa. There was no way he was sitting on the floor and crossing his legs. Instead he settled for leaning over her to grab pizza.

A tiny bit of grease dripped down onto Nikki's jeans.

"Hey, watch it you." She slapped his thigh.

Jack pretended to be apologetic and devoured the slice of pepperoni pizza. They were boring. They always opted for pepperoni. Nikki had momentarily considered making him order one with spinach on, just to see his face. But she couldn't be so cruel to Jack. He was down on his luck. And she was making him buy it after all.

They finished their pizza – yep, the whole pizza (that's what happens when you skip lunch on a regular basis). While Nikki took the empty box out to her recycling bin Jack decided to try and relax. He checked his phone.

Huh, he'd had a voicemail. He dialed the number and put the phone to his ear.

A thick Northern Irish voice boomed through the speaker.

"Oh hi m'darling it's your Ma. Your Pa and I are coming down to London to see you tomorrow and we thought we might stay for a while. Could you meet us at the train station in the morning? Bye for now. Mwah."

His face dropped.

"What's the matter?" Nikki asked when she came back in.

Jack was suddenly pale, and she wondered if the pizza had been bad.

"All hell is about to break loose."

* * *

His Ma. And Pa. In London. Coming to see him. This was bad. VERY VERY BAD.

Jack paced up and down outside Kings Cross. To onlookers he probably looked like a mad man, or like he'd just lost his job. Nikki had told him he was overreacting, and it wouldn't be that bad. He'd shot back with, 'You've not met my parents!'

When he saw them he faked a smile. His mother was short, even shorter than Nikki _without_ her heels on. She had short dark hair snipped into a bob, fierce green eyes and looks that could kill. His father however, was a gentle giant. His hair had greyed a lot since the last time Jack had seen them – and unlike his mother his father had soft calming eyes. He'd forgotten how ridiculous they looked next to each other.

"Jack!" His ma might be tiny, but when she hugged she almost rugby tackled the other person to the ground. Jack stumbled back a bit. He patted her on the back.

"How are you Ma?"

"Oh the train journey was awful wasn't it Jeremy?"

"Well I do think you're overreacting a tad their Kathleen."

Kathleen shot her husband 'the look'.

"I mean yes dear, just awful." His pa looked tired. He always looked tired. Jack speculated that it might have something to do with his ma, who seemed to have never ending energy. "How are you Son?"

"Great-"

"Oh London is awful isn't it? All the hustle and bustle and crime and filth-"

"I like it." Jack interrupted her.

"But you were such a country lad growing up weren't you? Why did this all change?" His ma pleaded with him.

"I go where the bodies are."

She didn't seem too pleased with that response. Jack caught his father silently chuckling to himself.

"What hotel are you staying in?" Jack implored, desperate to get them to where they needed to be so he could go back to work and finish analysing those DNA samples…

"Oh we're not staying in a hotel son. We're staying with you. You have the room don't you?" His ma reached up to put her hand on his shoulder. She was probably standing on her tiptoes to do so but Jack didn't bother to check. He was more concerned with what she'd just said.

"Hmmm?" He was pale again.

"Don't you want us to stay with you?" His ma looked hurt and his pa tutted away.

"I'll have to ask Nikki…I'm not sure she'd be comfortable with that."

"Oh, well why ever not? It's not really her place to tell you who can and cannot stay with you?"

"I'll phone her." Jack fumbled for his phone, and speed dialed 1.

"Give me that." His ma had snatched it out of his grasp before he could put the phone to his ear.

"No – Ma – give it back."

"Hi Jack, how'd it go?" Nikki answered.

"What's her name again?" Kathleen asked.

"Hello?" Nikki was confused. She was definitely speaking to a Northern Irish person, but that person wasn't Jack.

"It's Nikki – please don't-"

"Nikki, our Jack seems to think that it wouldn't be ok for me and his pa to stay with you both so I thought I'd best ask you."

"Kathleen, we can stay in a hotel." Jeremy persuaded. Well, he tried to.

Nikki was flustered. It was Jack's mother…and they wanted to stay with her?

"What do you say?" Kathleen pushed her for an answer.

Jack put his head in his hands. He knew exactly what his parents were thinking.

"Ok." Nikki replied, not really sure what to say. Where was Jack at this moment?

"Ok? Oh lovely I didn't think there would be a problem with that."

Kathleen hung up. She turned to Jack. "See. No problem. Your girlfriend's fine with it."

Jack was now stood with his hands on his hips shaking his head. This was worse than bad. This was hell…and they'd only been in London 5 minutes.

"Now off we go." She passed her luggage to Jack. He looked down at it, and then back at her, and then at his pa, and then back down at the luggage.

Great. Just _great._


	2. Nikki

Jack had just about managed to avoid taking his parents to The Lyell Centre en route to Nikki's. But it had been difficult. His ma was interested in his work because she didn't really understand it. She didn't really understand him.

He knew full well what his ma was thinking, and he knew he should probably put her straight. Nikki was _not_ his girlfriend. Not _yet_ anyway. But he also didn't want to correct her. His ma could be so fierce sometimes and he knew he'd immediately embarrass her if he told her now, after all of that drama. And he knew that she would then make a habit of trying to find him a suitable girlfriend. He also knew that she'd insist staying at Jack's place even with the water off. But his ma and pa would disapprove of Jack's 'boy pad', and would _keep on_ about how he wasn't looking after himself properly, and persuade him to come back to Yorkshire. On top of that his ma would probably never leave if she knew where Jack actually lived…which meant he'd definitely have to move. No, he thought, I'm sure Nikki will be more than gracious and he would pay her – in pizza or money or however she wanted payment. Even if it meant he'd have to endure weeks of torture from her.

"So what's your girlfriend like then Jack? We should know about her, since you've neglected to tell your pa and I. I didn't even know her name!"

That's because she's not my girlfriend, Jack thought. Jack and Nikki had been mistaken for a couple in the past (quite often to be honest) and he'd usually wasted no time in shutting them down. No she was not his girlfriend. Jack flew solo. Nikki was great and he cared about her deeply…but she was not his girlfriend. Perhaps he was so insistent because of what happened with Chrissie – and it had been Chrissie that first implied that there was something between him and Nikki…and oh God would he hate for Chrissie to be right.

Jack didn't really know what to say them. He was desperate to get them out of his car and settled at Nikki's so he could get back to work and explain to Nikki what was about to happen.

"She's uh…a pathologist."

That's it. He'd done it now.

"She cuts up dead people? Oh…" His ma put her hand to her mouth.

A pathologist? Why? Why couldn't Jack have a sensible girlfriend?

"Yeah well we have dead bodies in common in that respect." He couldn't help it. He needed to push her. He took delight in watching her face crumble even more.

"You work together?" His pa asked from the back seat.

"Yup." He nodded.

"I thought you would've learnt after Chrissie-"

"MA!" Jack had had enough, and it took him all his restraint to start shouting.

Fortunately for everyone's sake they were soon at Nikki's and he quickly offloaded his parent's and unlocked the door for them (Nikki had given him her spares so he could come and go as he pleased).

"Oh isn't this lovely?" His ma seemed overjoyed with his living conditions (although they weren't really his.)

"Right well I've got to get back to work…try not to break anything!"

"Jack?" His ma called after him.

He stopped. What now?

He turned back to look at them. He caught his pa suspiciously eyeing the living room. Nikki's house was modern, tidy and very…feminine feeling…. and Jack spotted that recognition across his pa's face. His pa knew this wasn't Jack's house – but nonetheless he said nothing about it.

"Do you really have to go back to work?" His ma implored.

Jack sighed.

"Yes."

* * *

Nikki sat at her desk spinning in her chair. Where was Jack?

She had an overwhelming sense that the next few days were going to be…well, _different._

Nikki had never met Jack's parents before, in fact, he'd rarely spoken about them. She recalled his brief mention of them when they were in Scotland. She'd found him at the shooting range disposing of his built up anger the only way he could without a punch bag. He'd finally given in to her curiosity and confided in her about Katie, and how she had died. He mentioned then that he didn't speak to his parent's for six months after that. Did he speak to them now, or did they still have an estranged relationship? It couldn't be that estranged if they were now in London to see him. Or perhaps they were here to build bridges, so to speak.

She'd tried to get him to talk to her about it last night but he'd sulked off to her guest bedroom and shut her out.

The door to their offices opened and swung shut just as fast and she knew without looking it was Jack.

"We need to talk." He was soon standing in the doorway. Jack had been very pale last night but now he looked emotionally drained – like all the blood had left his body and he was a walking dead man. Nikki was worried.

"Apparently." Nikki joked.

"In private." Jack turned to see Thomas sat in his office watching them through the glass.

"Ok." Nikki followed him as he lead her away from the imploring eyes of Thomas and Clarissa and they soon found themselves in the privacy of The Lyell Centre's locker room.

"First of all I'm going to say sorry in advance." Jack began.

"It's OK Jack I don't mind-"

"They think you're my girlfriend and I didn't correct them." He interrupted.

Nikki froze.

Jack's parents had invited themselves to stay with her, and they thought that she was Jack's girlfriend.

"What? Why?" She asked. You better have an explanation for this boy-o.

"It all happened so fast, I'm sorry." Jack put his hands on her shoulders. "They asked to stay with me and I said I'd have to ask you and I thought they might think that, hey, Jack's got a lady friend so we won't impose on that but noooo. And now my parents think that you're my girlfriend and that we live together and they're at your house playing detectives now…"

Oh God. He was dead. Nikki didn't waste time slapping him in the chest. This was not how she'd planned things when she'd invited Jack to stay with her. What is it with him? Invite him to stay and his whole bloody family rock up.

"I'm sorry Nikks."

He looked genuinely apologetic. Nikki suddenly felt pity for him. He really was having a bad week.

She could hit him harder and storm out. But instead she settled for rolling her eyes and shaking her head at him. She even almost _laughed_ at him.

"What?" He asked suddenly concerned that she was going to make this just as difficult for him as his parents were already making it.

"So I assume that your parent's are staying in my guest bedroom – where you slept last night." Nikki stated.

"Well…yeah." He agreed.

"And they think we're…you know" She gestured between them and Jack nodded. "So they expect us to be in love and sleep together."

His eyes glinted for a moment. He observed her as a mischievous look swept over her face.

"So you'll be sleeping in my room tonight…" She trailed off.

Suddenly he felt very aware of her presence. She was close to him and he could smell her shampoo. Nikki never wore perfume because it could interfere with her senses when doing autopsies. But her shampoo had a significant scent…what was it? Jack couldn't figure it out. He didn't really know what to say to her. But she was right…they would have to sleep together. In bed. In _her_ bed.

He settled for nodding hesitantly at her.

Nikki stepped towards him. She was very close to him now…one more inch and they'd collide. Nikki tiptoed to reach up to him. He could see the individual curls in her hair from this proximity and Jack momentarily forgot how to breathe. She was so so close. He could feel her breath across his cheek. Her lips grazed his ear ever so gently…

"On the floor."

Jack's face fell.

And then she was gone.


	3. Meeting the Hodgsons

It was late when they got back; Jack in his Jeep and Nikki in her Audi. Nikki arrived first, but decided it was best to wait for Jack. She didn't dare risk meeting his parent's alone. In all honesty, she was a bit scared -not necessarily of meeting Jack's parents – but of the impression she'd give them. What if, after all of this, they didn't like her? What if they didn't approve? Well that would just make things awkward between her and Jack forever.

They hadn't spoken about their little moment in the locker room. Nikki loved teasing him, but not in front of Thomas and Clarissa – not like _that_ anyway.

He soon arrived and met her outside her front door. He offered her an awkward smile as she fumbled with her keys.

"Too afraid to go in without me huh?" He mocked her. Nikki threw him a quick glare before she mustered the courage to enter.

Aromas of food filled their nostrils. Had his ma been cooking? In Nikki's house…oh when would it end?

It smelt like chicken; roast chicken, and gravy. Yep, there was definitely gravy. Jack's stomach started to rumble. FOOD. Please please _please_ have made enough for them to.

Nikki and Jack couldn't remember the last time they'd had a proper home cooked meal. In fact, Nikki wasn't sure she'd had one since leaving home. She didn't really have the time in her job. Jack on the other hand would often whip himself up a stir-fry or a curry – it was another one of his ways of calming himself after a stressful day at work. Nikki preferred microwave meals – they were less hassle.

"Oh here they are – JEREMY!" His ma called to her husband who had obviously disappeared to the bathroom.

Nikki was slightly thankful that she was meeting one at a time and not both of them together.

"Hello, you must be Kathleen. Nice to _finally_ meet you." Nikki pretended to be 'in the know' about the parent situation and fake mad at Jack for not introducing them sooner. She was met with a hug from Kathleen – a hug.

Jack closed his eyes for a second. Nikki was going to play along to this game but oh was she going to make him pay for it later. He just knew it.

"Oh well look at you, aren't you lovely - not at all what I'd expected for a pathologist."

Great. Thanks ma, Jack thought.

Nikki just smiled at her. She'd remember to tell Jack that it hadn't been the first time someone had said that to her later.

"You've been cooking?" Jack broke the moment, gesturing to the pots and pans on the draining board.

Nikki couldn't help but suddenly wonder where they'd found the food.

"Yes well we noticed that you only had microwave meals – that's _very_ unhealthy you know – so I nipped down to that co-op I spotted on the corner and bought a few bits."

Now Nikki was embarrassed. Jack tried not to laugh at her. What else had they been looking through?

It was then that Jeremy appeared.

"Ah, there she is." His arms reached out and suddenly Nikki was swamped in a bear hug. She found herself thinking it was very similar to the way Jack hugged her. What she couldn't see in this moment though was the look Jeremy was giving his son. He knew. He was wise. But he couldn't work out _why_.

"Hi nice to meet you." Nikki smiled. She was sooo polite. She was, well, just herself. How could they not love her? She was adorable. She could be the perfect girlfriend for Jack – and she would be. And she would make sure that they loved her.

"Right well you two get yourselves settled and I'll serve us all up some dinner. When was the last time you ate m'dear?" Kathleen turned to Nikki. She was giving her a look and Nikki couldn't really identify what kind of look it was.

"Um…lunchtime?" She replied, although she didn't know why she was questioning herself.

"Hmm. Well I'll give you a few extra potatoes – you look like you need them."

"OK that's enough." Jack grabbed Nikki by the arm. "Nikki, c'mon."

He kept his hand on her arm until they were out of view from the prying eyes of his ma.

"I'm _so_ sorry." He whispered in her ear, dragging her into her bedroom.

"You _so_ owe me for this Jack."

"If it's any consolation I think my dad knows that you're not really my girlfriend."

"What? How?"

Jack shrugged. Perhaps it was the lack of his things at her place.

It was then that he found his gym bag on Nikki's bed. Ah-he'd left it the guestroom. That was how his Dad knew. There was no way Jack would have a gym bag full of his clothes and not any in Nikki's wardrobe if he were actually her boyfriend. His ma probably hadn't seen it. He knew her. The first thing she would have done was make a cup of tea – and then she would have immediately left to buy food when she realised they hadn't got any. Jack theorized that his pa had then done some snooping while she was gone and come across the bag in the other bedroom, and moved it into Nikki's so his wife wouldn't find it. He was a lot like Jack when it came to dealing with Kathleen – he didn't argue with her, and he did everything he possibly could to avoid drama.

It was going to be a long evening. And Jack knew he and Nikki would have to up their 'we're a couple' façade over the next few days if they were going to get through it unscathed.

* * *

Nikki mentally slapped herself for not buying a dining table now that she had Jack, and his parents over. They were all sat awkwardly around the breakfast bar. Kathleen had not been pleased. Nikki responded that they'd just moved into this new place together so not everything was ready yet – they would be getting a dining table soon and Jack was working on moving his things in out of storage (a little white lie that Jack had constructed in the bedroom earlier.)

Kathleen seemed to believe it – Jeremy on the other hand wasn't so sure.

"So Nikki," Jeremy began as he put his glass of wine down. "Tell us about pathology. Why did you choose that career path?"

"Oh Jeremy, _not_ when we're eating dinner." Kathleen commented.

Nikki tried her best to ignore her, but answer Jeremy's question without being too crude.

"Well it's the caring for the dead. Some of the people that we deal with die in terrible circumstances, and I want to find the evidence that will give them justice in death."

Jack smiled softly at her. This was one of the things he loved about Nikki: she cared just as much for the dead as she did the living. She was a tiny little superhero dressed in scrubs in his eyes. He wondered if she thought the same of him. Probably not. If anyone at The Lyell Centre was a real-life superhero that would obviously be Clarissa – although he'd never tell her that in a million years

"I see." Jeremy responded. He noticed some similarities between Nikki and Jack. They both cared about the world and the people in it. They both cared probably a little too much and they both would argue that you could never care too much. They'd go out of their way to make sure they did the right thing. Jack did have his moments though. Especially when it came down to Ryan – his half brother.

Ryan was out of prison now, but Jack hadn't seen him since the trial. Things were too far-gone between them now. His ma had been angry that Jack could betray his brother like that, but in the end, she'd realised the truths of the situation and come round. Ryan had done wrong, he'd done his time for it, and now he was fine. Jack had almost been beaten to death because of him – and they were even now.

They finished their food – Nikki had really enjoyed it very much and she made sure to tell Kathleen that.

It wasn't long before Nikki had excused herself to go in search of her bedroom. She needed a moment – just to herself, to gather her thoughts and emotions. She was grateful that they hadn't got a particularly bad case at the moment – they hadn't seen a fresh body through the Lyell for at least 3 days. She just hoped she and Jack could get through this time with his parents without a nasty case interrupting it and distracting them. She wondered if the distraction might not be the worst thing in the world, even if it brought death and grief with it.

Jack was soon checking on her. Was she ok? He hoped this wasn't getting too much for her to deal with.

"Nikki." He knocked on the door and hesitated before opening it. "You alright?"

He peered into the room to find her sat on the end of her bed.

"Yeah yeah, I'm fine. Don't worry about it."

Jack was concerned now. Had he pushed too far?

"You sure?" He pried as he sat down on the bed next to her. "I can tell them the truth and get them to leave if it's too much for you…"

"No Jack I'm fine." She nudged his arm. "Really."

He smiled.

"I know my ma's a handful."

"She's more than a handful Jack, try a whole bucket full."

He couldn't help but laugh at that. "Can't deny that."

He was suddenly overwhelmingly tired and he could see it on Nikki's face that she was too.

"Shall I go and tell them it's bed time for us then? It is almost midnight – and I know you're an early riser."

Nikki rolled her eyes.

He was shouting down the corridor to his parents in seconds. "MA, PA. WE'RE HITTING THE SACK – SEE YA IN THE MORNING."

He shut the door after hearing his ma call "Alright love, don't let those bugs bite," back at him. That was about as much as a goodnight you'd get in the Hodgson family. No hugs. No kisses. No sweet dreams. Just I'M GOING TO BED screamed down the corridor. Nikki wondered if that's what he'd been like growing up. She liked the idea. It sounded better than going to bed in a dorm full of other teenage girls, with no one to say goodnight to.

"Are you always like this with your parents?" She asked him.

"Trust me Nikki, there is no other way to be with my parents." He deadpanned. "Are you really going to make me sleep on the floor?"

"Yes." She said without hesitation. "Don't you for one second think that you can invite your parents to stay with me, tell them I'm your girlfriend, just to coerce me into bed with you Jack."

He nodded. Fair enough.

He reached down to the hem of his shirt and whipped it over his head smoothly. Nikki found herself staring gormlessly at his chest…and _those_ abs.

"Like what you see?" He winked at her before making himself a makeshift bed on the floor next to her bed. He stole a pillow from her bed and the blanket that lay over the chair in the corner of her room. Soon he was stood before her in nothing but his boxers.

Nikki snapped herself out of her trance. She could feel him watching her, daring her to make the next move. But he didn't encourage her.

Worn out, Jack collapsed to the floor. It wasn't actually that uncomfortable, he told himself. If he believed that, he could get through the night sleeping on the floor of Nikki's bedroom. As soon as he admitted it was uncomfortable as hell he'd never make it until morning without waking his parents up in the middle of the night and begging them to go to a hotel so he could sleep in the bed that had been his last night. Could he be that cruel to his parents? Probably. He was Jack after all.

"If you get cold in the night, you know where to find me." He couldn't resist it. The temptation was too strong. She'd really got him in the locker room earlier that day and he wasn't going to let her torture him without some form of pay back.

Two could play at her little game – and Jack was definitely willing to play.


	4. A Dangerous Game

Hi everyone, sorry for the delay and that this chapter is a little on the short side. Warning: Things get a little heated...just a little.

* * *

It was 4am when Nikki awoke. For a moment she forgot all about Jack, who was still fast asleep on her bedroom floor. Her bedroom was in darkness, except for the beam of moonlight that sliced through the curtains. It gave her just enough light to make out his shape. His skin almost glinted in the light. She looked down at him and smiled softly. How could he be a genius and an idiot at the same time?

Jack lay on the floor, shirt discarded and Nikki's favourite throw draped across his hips, dangerously low. She took a moment to trace the outline of him. She'd seen him shirtless many times – even rubbed cream onto his torso after he took a beating, but now he seemed…different. He looked uncomfortable even in his sleep. Poor Jack. Perhaps she'd been too harsh on him….

"I can _feel_ you watching me, you know." He murmured sleepily.

Oops. Nikki bit her lip. He wasn't sleeping after all.

"I wasn't watching you." She shot back.

It was then that he turned to face her, eyes open and eyebrows raised.

"Are you sure about that?"

She nodded, "Yup."

"Then how come your reflection in that mirror over there suggested otherwise?"

Nikki looked at her mirror. Crap. It would've given him the perfect angle to spot her eyeing him without her noticing. She shut her eyes and she heard him chuckle.

"Oh shut up Jack." She said as she rolled away from him. She was safe over the other side of her bed now. He couldn't get to her here.

She listened through the darkness as he sat up and stretched.

"I'm so going to need a massage after tonight."

"Jack I've got two hours before my alarm wakes us both up again, I suggest we go back to sleep."

Jack glared at her alarm clock. 04:09AM.

"Well go back to sleep then."

"I will." She closed her eyes. She still had her back to him but she knew he hadn't moved. He was still sat up, stretching out his muscles. He must have been so uncomfortable.

Now she could feel him watching her – tracing her form the way she had his.

Nikki was suddenly nervous. What was he thinking?

"You're paler than I thought." Jack spoke, resting his chin on the mattress. He peered at her like a meerkat. This was as close as he'd get to being in bed with her, he thought.

He heard her breath hitch and couldn't resist the smirk that rose to his lips. He was enjoying this little game of cat and mouse they had going on.

"It's the moonlight." She responded.

"Hmmm." He agreed.

There was a moments silence before Nikki turned back to face him. She was now near to the middle of her bed and could see his face very clearly. It was dangerously close.

"Go back to sleep Jack."

"But it's uncomfortable." He whined.

"Jack." She raised her eyebrows at him, as he pouted at her.

She rolled her eyes.

"Fine, you can get in, but no…" She trailed off.

Jack grinned, and wasted no time climbing into bed next to her. She moved across to the safety of the other side of her bed and turned away from him. If she pretended he wasn't here, then maybe she could trust herself to make it through the next two hours.

Only there was a problem…Nikki _hated_ this side of the bed. She never slept on this side and not only that, but it was cold. Jack had snuggled down into her favourite sleeping spot. She sighed. There was no way she'd go back to sleep now.

She could feel his body radiating warmth onto her back.

"No _what_?" He whispered into her hair.

Shivers ran down her spine as the heat of his breath hit the back of her neck. Oh god, this was a bad idea…a very bad idea. She tried not to jolt away from him but she was stuck between Jack and the edge of the bed…she could escape to the floor, but…

"This?" He said next as his lips gently pressed against her neck. Nikki squeezed her eyes shut, bit her lip and gripped the bed sheet in her hand. This was both torture and bliss at the same time. She could slap him…but…perhaps not when he was kissing her neck like _that_.

She willed herself to ignore him. If she didn't respond then he might stop -although, she wasn't entirely sure she wanted him to stop. No. She didn't want him to stop.

But he did and she instantly opened her eyes. Her neck was suddenly cold…why had he stopped? She turned around to find him looking at her mischievously.

Their eyes met.

"You're messing with me aren't you?" She hesitated.

Jack grinned.

"You started it." He winked at her, and suddenly he was out of bed and leaving her bedroom in search of the kettle. There was no way he'd be going back to sleep with Nikki after he'd…well; this was reaching new levels of 'pushing it'.

She sat up as he left.

What was happening to them?


	5. Uncharted Territory

You asked - and who am I to refuse? It is Valentine's Day after all...

WARNING: It gets a bit heated...again.

* * *

Jack was sat at the breakfast bar when Nikki found him. She'd sat in her bed for a few minutes after he'd left and contemplated what was happening between them; listened to him making tea (or was it coffee?) and making himself at home in her house. Jack and Nikki had an odd relationship, and she knew it. She spent far too often wondering what she'd be risking if she let him in, and what they would ruin if it all went wrong. The whole Lyell Centre would crumble. It was built on good teamwork, and Leo's vision of combining forensic science with pathology. Jack and Nikki had solved more horrific murders together than either of them had before working together. Jack would claim it was more than all the police departments that they'd worked with over the years would be able to achieve in decades. Jack hated the police, which was one of the reason's Nikki had introduced a new rule for herself of never dating policemen. She couldn't deal with the tension it would create between her and Jack. And when there was tension between them (which was almost always because of another guy) it was bad.

Nikki crept into the kitchen to find him with his head resting on his arms. He'd still not managed to put some clothes on. She looked down at herself. She was only wearing a vest and shorts, and they didn't leave much to the imagination either, she thought. She suddenly felt very self-conscious (which she knew was ridiculous, if she were to die suddenly then it would likely be Thomas and Jack doing her postmortem and well, it didn't bare thinking about).

"Jack?" She asked hesitantly.

His head shot up and his eyes met hers all at once. She caught the faint tint that rose to his cheeks when he saw her.

"Sorry." He spoke quickly. "It was too far, I know that."

She smiled at him. Oh he really could be adorable without knowing it sometimes.

"It's OK." She padded over to him barefoot, and lent on the breakfast bar. "But you're not, are you?"

"Hmm." He nodded and pursed his lips, lost in thought.

"Is it about your parents?" She asked.

"Sshh." He put his finger to his lips and then gestured to the bathroom. She hadn't noticed his ma had been in the bathroom on the way to the kitchen, but she hadn't been thinking about anything other than Jack, in all fairness.

She grimaced. Kathleen had the senses of a bloodhound, and lord knows what her hearing ability was like. She may be getting old, but she was Kathleen Hodgson.

"Well they're nice, I like them." She commented, and she clicked the kettle back on to make herself a drink – since Jack hadn't offered. Honestly, he comes into her house, gets into bed with her, kisses her neck and then makes himself a drink without asking her if she wanted one. Classic Jack, she thought dropping a tea bag into her favourite mug and waiting for the water to boil – she willed it to hurry up.

It took a moment for Jack to respond. "Now you really do sound like my girlfriend."

"Well I am, aren't I?" She glanced at him with a smirk.

He nodded. _Apparently_.

"I thought I heard you two! Well, you're both early risers aren't you?" Kathleen appeared.

"Sorry did we wake you?" Nikki asked, with a slightly sympathetic look on her face.

"Oh _, no dear_ , the cock would normally wake us up at this time in Yorkshire."

Nikki looked at Jack, slightly mortified.

" _Cock-rel."_ He mouthed at her.

Oh. Right.

He silently chuckled at her and she glared at him. Nikki was a city girl, and she'd grown up in South Africa – she knew nothing about cockerels, or English farm life. Jack continued to chuckle into his hands but she could see the amusement in his eyes.

Nikki chose to ignore him and asked how Kathleen had slept, and if the guest room had been comfortable. Kathleen told her not to worry so much, Nikki and Jack had a lovely house, and they just needed to sort themselves out with a dining table.

"Jeremy and I thought we might visit Parliament today." Kathleen stated proudly, as Nikki presented her with the tea she had been making herself. "Oh, thank you lovely."

Nikki smiled at her. She was lovely, wasn't she? Jack raised his eyebrows at her.

"Jack would you put some clothes on sweetheart? I know I'm your ma, and Nikki's your girlfriend but there's no need to wave it all about."

Jack looked down at his boxers. Now Nikki was laughing at him – he could _hear_ her, even though she wasn't laughing out loud. He slinked off to the bedroom to get dressed.

"Why Parliament?" Nikki asked Kathleen.

"Well we've _never_ been, could you believe it?" She rested her hand on Nikki's arm. "And I hope to catch Teresa May and tell her a few things."

Nikki nodded. It was a great idea.

"Do you know how to get there from here?"

"Oh yes dear we did some research on Jeremy's phone. You can use the Internet on them you know. Marvelous"

Nikki chuckled. This woman _hated_ London because it was too busy, but loved the idea that smartphones accessed the Internet. Kathleen and Jack were two very different characters, and Nikki found herself wondering how they could be so different. She supposed Jack was more like his father – or if anything, he was just Jack. He did his own thing, in his own way. Actually if she thought about it, out of the three of them he was most like her.

"Is everything alright with you two?" Kathleen asked, no hesitation or caution present in her voice, just curiosity.

It caught Nikki off guard.

"Oh…yes." She offered in response. In hindsight, it wasn't the most convincing statement.

"Oh sweetheart, all relationships have their little tiffs now and then – you'll work it out. Jack can be a little…" She paused. "Well, _Jack_ sometimes."

Erm…

"I have put clothes on." Jack reappeared, wearing a fresh grey t-shirt, blue button up and dark jeans. Nikki liked the way he dressed. He never wore a suit to work, and Nikki didn't like to dress up for work either. But Thomas and Clarissa always looked professional. And then there was Nikki and Jack in their jeans…what did people think of them?

"Yes we can see that dear." Kathleen commented.

"Well, I'm sorry that we have to work today Kathleen." Nikki said and sipped at her tea – _finally_. Oh it was good.

"Not to worry, we did show up a bit unannounced."

"A bit?" Jack commented.

"How about we all go out for dinner tonight?" Kathleen invited, looking at Nikki for an answer. Nikki caught Jack's eyes. He was shaking his head vigorously.

"Yes that would be lovely, wouldn't it Jack?"

His face fell. He put on a smile. Yes, _lovely_.

* * *

Nikki and Jack ignored…no _avoided_ , each other for the rest of the day. It hadn't been too difficult, Nikki had been caught up in a post mortem, and writing a report, and Jack had been busy verifying evidence found at the scene of death. They confirmed the death as suicide to the police who came asking questions later in the day. That moment was the only time they'd really seen each other in the last 10 hours.

It wasn't until 6pm that Jack found her, with her head in her hands staring at her computer screen. She looked tired. Very tired.

"Nikki, you ready?" He asked, coming to stand beside her.

Thomas and Clarissa had already left for the night, and the Lyell Centre felt ghostly when it was quiet.

She didn't respond.

"Nikki?" He put a hand on her shoulder. She jumped at the touch.

"Jesus, Jack"

"Sorry." He threw his hands up in an 'I'm innocent' gesture. "I did speak. Twice."

"Did you?" She _sounded_ tired. "Sorry Jack."

"What's up?" He asked, concerned.

"It's nothing, I'm just thinking about her family."

Ah, she was talking about the suicide.

Jack nodded. He got it. Sometimes they found it difficult to shut out the reality of what they did. Thomas and Clarissa seemed much better at it than Jack and Nikki did – but Thomas had once mentioned to Nikki that it was perhaps why they worked so well together.

Jack put his arm round her shoulder. "Well, thanks to you, we now have to endure a night out having dinner with my parents…in public." He commented. " _With my parents_."

Nikki smiled softly and rest her head on his shoulder.

"C'mon. I think it's an excuse to get very, _very_ drunk." He squeezed her arm.

She looked up at him. It was dark in the Lyell Centre. The lighting was always bad – it came from their offices being based on the ground floor. The light from her computer illuminated their faces and she was suddenly very aware of him (much like how he'd felt yesterday when she'd teased him in the locker room). He glanced down at her lips. The lipstick she'd put on earlier that morning had faded but they still had a slight darker tint to them. She knew what he was thinking; she could see it in his eyes as they studied her lips.

He could kiss her now.

But he didn't.

* * *

"What a wonderful evening!" Jeremy announced as they all arrived back at Nikki's house.

Jack and Nikki laughed. Jeremy was jolly – he'd had a few _too many_ glasses of red wine. Come to mention it, so had Nikki and Jack and Nikki found it difficult to stand without leaning into him. His arm was around her shoulders again. It was almost their default stance – Jack always put his arm around her shoulders…even when they weren't pretending to be a couple.

Kathleen was the only one who had managed to stay sober – she had offered to drive so Nikki and Jack could have a nice evening together. She thought they needed it; it would release all that tension that she sensed between them.

Nikki put her arm round Jack's waist and giggled into his chest.

"Ok, I think somebody needs to sleep." Jack commented.

Nikki nodded. "Yup. My head is going to kill me tomorrow morning."

Jeremy found this very amusing – he himself would have an aching head in the morning. "Sleep tight!" His voice boomed through the house Nikki swore she could feel the whole building shake. She tried to steady herself against the walls.

It wasn't long before she was back in the safety (was it really safe?) of her bedroom. She kicked her shoes off and crashed onto her mattress. She put her arm over her eyes and tried to calm herself down. She really did need to sleep.

Jack watched her with both amusement and concern, while taking off his button up. He stepped over to the bed and stood looming over her. She couldn't see him with her arm flung over her eyes but she sensed he was close.

All too soon he was practically on top of her, his arms holding himself above her so he didn't crush her petite form. She removed her arm from where they were shielding her eyes and looked up at him in shock. What was he doing?

He stared down at her with _that_ look again. It took her all her courage to keep herself breathing – if he kissed her now, she knew she'd stop and her whole body would cease to function.

But again, he didn't. Instead he was leaning over her to grab his gym bag from where it lay on the other side of the bed.

Oh.

Perhaps she'd exaggerated his movements in her head? Or was he just messing with her again?

Nikki didn't know anymore. But she was entirely aware of being somewhat intoxicated.

She giggled. "I thought you were going to kiss me again."

Jack was in the middle of taking his shirt off when he paused. His shirt remained covering his face for a few moments. Nikki took the time to admire his abs. Then his shirt was off and he was staring at her.

He'd been contemplating kissing her for most of the day. His lips tingled at the thought.

Jack smirked at her. Nikki lay on her back, leaning on her elbows so she could watch him. Her hair curled around her shoulders, slightly disheveled from her long day. Jack stood fairly close to where her feet hung off the edge of the bed. He said nothing, and continued to watch her watching him. He contemplated taking off his jeans – but if he did that he'd be very vulnerable to her gaze. This wasn't like last night. She wasn't watching him in awe – she was watching him with eager eyes. She was _willing_ him to take them off.

And Jack wasn't sure they were prepared for what _could_ happen if he did.

Then she sat up, and scrambled to find her pyjamas (the vest and shorts from the previous night), and before Jack could do anything she had taken her jumper off to exchange it for her vest. Her back was facing him, and his eyes fell over the clasp of her bra. She discarded her jumper on the floor next to the bed.

The night before she'd disappeared into the bathroom to change – but not tonight. She didn't seem to care that he was watching her. Then again, she was the one who had been watching him first.

It was when she reached back to undo the clasp that he spoke.

"Nikki." He murmured, his voice almost breaking.

She spun round on her knees to face him. Her eyes lit up as she caught his eyes fall over her chest.

He squeezed his eyes shut. He would have images of this moment with her in her bra in his head for the rest of his life. He just knew it.

He couldn't open his eyes. If he did he'd…

Then she was in front of him, kneeling on the edge of the bed while he stood before her. He could feel the heat of her body radiating into his chest. Her hand came up to rest above his heart.

He opened his eyes.

"This better not be revenge for me kissing your neck last night." His voice was deep, dark and full of so much _intent_.

She shivered.

In moments he had pulled her closer until their bodies collided. She gasped as his arms encircled her waist and he lifted her off the bed. She immediately wrapped her legs around his hips. Before she knew it her back crashed against the mattress and she was trapped between it and Jack's warm body.

Their eyes met. He was searching for her refusal – for her to reject him. But instead she bit her lip and nodded a silent ' _yes_.'

And then he was _finally_ kissing her.


	6. Broken Hearts

Apologies for the delay! I'm in the middle of moving house and I've had a poorly kiddy :( But I managed to get this done this morning, and hopefully will be able to update again soon.

* * *

 _Beep beep. Beep beep. Beep beep._

Nikki opened her eyes. She immediately squeezed them shut again when the bright light of morning stung them. Ahh.

 _Thud thud. Thud thud. Thud thud._

She groaned, " _Fuck_ ".

Her head ached so much she could hear tiny little hammers bashing her brain about inside. She rubbed her eyes and stretched across the bed attempting to shut off that stupid alarm clock with her eyes still closed. Nikki had been debating getting rid of it and using her phone's alarm to wake her instead, but she knew she'd forget to set it if she did.

Nikki rolled back to her side of the bed. It was too cold on the other side… _wait._

Jack.

She sat up faster than a rocket and immediately regretted moving so fast. She held her head in her hands and massaged her temples. Oh no. Oh no no no no NO.

Cautiously opening her eyes she took a moment to scan her bedroom. Nope. No Jack.

Perhaps he'd gotten up early like yesterday? She questioned. It didn't take her long to notice that his clothes were gone.

It took her a little while to pull herself out of bed and climb to her feet. Every little movement felt like running a marathon. This was why she didn't drink. Because when she did she'd suffer hell afterwards. And Nikki wasn't a drama queen. Although, Jack might beg to differ on that one.

Jack.

It took her a little too long to realise that she was completely and utterly naked. Right. Yep, that had definitely happened last night. No denying it at all. She found her clothes as quickly as she could (which was not that quick) and padded to her bedroom door.

 _Easy does it Nikki_ , she thought. _Slow and steady wins the race._

As soon as she pulled her bedroom door open she knew her house was empty. The cold air hit her like a slap in the face.

She closed her eyes again.

It was much brighter than it should be for 6.00AM.

She spun round to check the clock by her bed and almost fell in the process. She lent back against the wall as the big red numbers glared at her.

11.04AM.

Someone had changed her alarm, and it didn't take her long to put two and two together to know that it had been Jack.

But what about work? _Oh my god Chamberlain will kill me._

Nikki grabbed her phone and was about to phone Thomas when she noticed a text from him on her home screen.

 _TC: No problem, I will cover your postmortem today. Rest easy._

Confused, she checked back through her messages. She'd text him, no – Jack had text him pretending to be her – at 5.38AM to say that she'd come down with a bug and couldn't risk contaminating the Lyell.

Why would he do that?

She closed her eyes again. She _really_ needed some paracetamol.

* * *

"So you mean to tell me, son, that Nikki _isn't_ your girlfriend and you don't live with her, and your father and I have been _embarrassing_ ourselves in front of your _colleague_ for the last 2 days!?" Kathleen was exasperated as Jack drove them back to his place.

He sighed, "Yes."

Jack also had a hangover, but he knew that he was much better at holding alcohol than Nikki was.

"Why on earth would you do that to us?" Kathleen raised her voice as much as she could, and Jack thought for a brief second that all dogs in a 3 mile radius were probably barking back at her.

"The water at my apartment hasn't been working for the last week – well, it was fixed yesterday and I just didn't know how to tell you."

Kathleen huffed.

"Is Nikki aware that we've left? It seems a bit rude, son." Jeremy asked from the back seat.

Jack glanced at the clock on his dashboard. 11.14AM.

"Yes, she knows."

 _She'd not called him yet._

"So why all this fuss now?" Kathleen pestered. "Why not keep up your little game until we'd left? What's changed?"

Jack bit his lip and shook his head. "Nope. I know what you're doing ma and just leave it, OK?"

"Do you love her?" Kathleen asked, suddenly serious. "Only I saw the way you look at her sweetheart and…"

"JUST LEAVE IT."

Jack was seconds away from losing his temper with his parents when they pulled into Jack's road. Silence fell upon the car as Jack stopped outside his apartment. He quickly got out of his Jeep and slammed the door shut.

Now it was Kathleen's turn to hesitate. She eyed the building and turned to Jeremy, who shrugged back at her.

"Perhaps we've overstepped a little bit Kathy." He said to his wife softly.

She nodded. "Yes, perhaps we have."

She got out and followed him to the boot of his Jeep. He was busy hauling out their luggage when she caught up with him.

She watched him silently for a few moments before asking. " _This_ , is where you live?"

Kathleen scanned the lose rubbish and ripped open bin bags lining the street, the flaking paint on the building and the rusted mental door. This was not a home. This was poverty.

"Ma." Jack warned.

"Could you not afford something, a bit more…"

"Like Nikki's?" He interrupted.

Kathleen paused and considered. "Well, it is a lovely home…it could just use a dining table that's all."

Jeremy appeared behind Kathleen and suddenly Jack felt bad for them. His ma could be a pain in the arse, but they were family and he'd deceived them.

"Look…" He sighed. "I live here because this is just about as much as London will give me on my salary. It's pretty crappy on the outside, and kinda like a warehouse on the inside but I've lived her for five years – it's my home. No it's not a palace like Nikki's, it's not picturesque like Yorkshire or Ireland, but for the life I live, it's OK. Besides, its four times the price of renting a four bed house in the Dales."

Jeremy nodded. "Well, let's get in shall we?"

Jack was thankful for his father understanding.

"You knew this whole time, didn't you?" Jack asked. "About me and Nikki?"

Kathleen turned to face Jeremy with confusion spelled out quite clearly across her face.

"I had my suspicions." He nodded. "As you said, Nikki's house is a palace, and you're not exactly Prince Charming son."

No. He wasn't.

* * *

Darkness fell upon them. Nikki had spent most of her day fighting the urge to call him. She'd recovered from her hangover, watched TV, drank all the tea in the world and attempted to finish her paperwork but she couldn't focus - so she'd given up within minutes and gone back to watching nonsense daytime television.

But when darkness hit she caved, and finally messaged him. Part of her had hoped he would return with his parents in the evening and that all of this had just been because he wanted to spend some time alone with them, away from the pretending.

Deep down, she'd known that he'd gone back to his place.

 _N: You've gone._

 _J: I know._

 _N: Why?_

 _J: Its better this way._

 _J: I'm sorry._

It took her all the courage in the world to stop herself from crying. And even that wasn't enough.


End file.
